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Prepartum Maternal Behavior of Domesticated Cattle: A Comparison with Managed, Feral, and Wild Ungulates

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The event of giving birth is an essential part of animal production. In dairy cattle production, there are substantial economical and welfare-related challenges arising around the time of parturition, and hence increased focus on efficient management of the calving cow. Drawing on the research literature on prepartum maternal behavior, this review compares cattle to other members of the ungulate clade with the aim of understanding the biological basis of bovine prepartum behavior with main emphasis on dairy cows. Ultimately, this knowledge may be used in future development of housing systems and recommendations for the management of calving cows. Maternal prepartum behavior varies among species, but the final goal of ungulate mothers is the same: ensuring a calm parturition and optimal environment for the onset of postpartum maternal behavior by locating an appropriate birth site, with low risk of predators, disturbances and mistaken identity of offspring. Features of chosen birth sites vary among species and depend largely on the environment, as ungulate females display a considerable ability to adapt to their surroundings. However, within commercial housing conditions in dairy production, the animals’ ability to adapt behaviorally appears to be challenged. Confinement alongside high stocking densities leave little room to express birth-site selection behavior, posing a high risk of agonistic social behavior, disturbances, and mismothering, as well as exposure to olfactory cues influencing both prepartum and postpartum maternal behavior. Dairy cows are thus exposed to several factors in a commercial calving environment, which may thwart their maternal motivations and influence their behavior. In addition, prepartum cattle may be more affected by olfactory cues than other ungulate species (e.g., sheep) because they are attracted to birth fluids already before calving. Hence, providing dairy cows with an environment where they can perform the maternal behavior they are motivated for, may aid a calm and secure calving and provide optimal surroundings for postpartum maternal behavior. Future research should focus on designing motivation-based housing systems allowing freedom to express prepartum maternal behavior and investigate in more detail the effects of the environment on the welfare of calving cows and their offspring.
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March 2018 | Volume 5 | Article 451
REVIEW
published: 12 March 2018
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00045
Frontiers in Veterinary Science | www.frontiersin.org
Edited by:
Laura Ann Boyle,
Teagasc, The Irish Agriculture
and Food Development
Authority, Ireland
Reviewed by:
Alan G. McElligott,
University of Roehampton,
United Kingdom
Christoph Winckler,
University of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
*Correspondence:
Maria Vilain Rørvang
mariav.rorvang@slu.se
Specialty section:
This article was submitted
to Animal Behavior
and Welfare,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Received: 09November2017
Accepted: 22February2018
Published: 12March2018
Citation:
RørvangMV, NielsenBL, HerskinMS
and JensenMB (2018) Prepartum
Maternal Behavior of Domesticated
Cattle: A Comparison with Managed,
Feral, and Wild Ungulates.
Front. Vet. Sci. 5:45.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00045
Prepartum Maternal Behavior
of Domesticated Cattle:
A Comparison with Managed,
Feral, and Wild Ungulates
Maria Vilain Rørvang1*, Birte L. Nielsen2,3, Mette S. Herskin1 and Margit Bak Jensen1
1 Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark, 2 INRA, NeuroBiologie de l’Olfaction, Université
Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France, 3 INRA, Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, AgroParisTech,
Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France
The event of giving birth is an essential part of animal production. In dairy cattle produc-
tion, there are substantial economical and welfare-related challenges arising around the
time of parturition, and hence increased focus on efficient management of the calving
cow. Drawing on the research literature on prepartum maternal behavior, this review
compares cattle to other members of the ungulate clade with the aim of understanding
the biological basis of bovine prepartum behavior with main emphasis on dairy cows.
Ultimately, this knowledge may be used in future development of housing systems and
recommendations for the management of calving cows. Maternal prepartum behavior
varies among species, but the final goal of ungulate mothers is the same: ensuring a calm
parturition and optimal environment for the onset of postpartum maternal behavior by
locating an appropriate birth site, with low risk of predators, disturbances and mistaken
identity of offspring. Features of chosen birth sites vary among species and depend
largely on the environment, as ungulate females display a considerable ability to adapt to
their surroundings. However, within commercial housing conditions in dairy production,
the animals’ ability to adapt behaviorally appears to be challenged. Confinement along-
side high stocking densities leave little room to express birth-site selection behavior,
posing a high risk of agonistic social behavior, disturbances, and mismothering, as
well as exposure to olfactory cues influencing both prepartum and postpartum mater-
nal behavior. Dairy cows are thus exposed to several factors in a commercial calving
environment, which may thwart their maternal motivations and influence their behavior.
In addition, prepartum cattle may be more affected by olfactory cues than other ungulate
species (e.g., sheep) because they are attracted to birth fluids already before calving.
Hence, providing dairy cows with an environment where they can perform the maternal
behavior they are motivated for, may aid a calm and secure calving and provide opti-
mal surroundings for postpartum maternal behavior. Future research should focus on
designing motivation-based housing systems allowing freedom to express prepartum
maternal behavior and investigate in more detail the effects of the environment on the
welfare of calving cows and their offspring.
Keywords: behavioral plasticity, birth place, cattle, isolation seeking, maternal behavior, motivation, olfaction,
parturition
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INTRODUCTION
e event of giving birth is an essential part of animal produc-
tion. ere are substantial economical and welfare-related chal-
lenges arising around the time of parturition, and commercial
animal production have developed an extensive body of rec-
ommendations for housing and managing parturient females.
In beef and dairy production, successful management of the
calving cow aims to ensure a viable calf with no detrimental
eects for the cow. In addition, a smooth transition from dry
to lactating is important for dairy cows. To achieve these goals,
recommendations state that careful supervision during calving
and timely intervention is crucial. Hence, calving cows should
be kept in a way that enables the farmer to identify cows in
need of assistance. Recent guidelines suggest that cows should
calve in individual pens [e.g., by law in Denmark (1) and in
e Canadian Dairy Code of Practice (2)] partly based on the
nding that cows increase the distance to the herd before calv-
ing if they have the opportunity (3). ese guidelines appear
to be well suited to the behavior of parturient cows, but the
motivation underlying this behavior is not known. Are the cows
motivated to move away from the herd to avoid other cows, to
hide from disturbances in general, or are they attempting to
hide from specic threats? If the causal factors underlying the
prepartum behavior of parturient cows are not understood, is it
then certain that aspects of animal welfare related to behavioral
needs and highly motivated behavior are accounted for when
cows are kept in individual pens at calving? Keeping cows in
individual pens benet the farmers—and by extension health
aspects of dairy cow welfare—due to easier calving supervision
and assistance when needed, but does it also satisfy maternal
motivation of the cows?
e survival and development of mammalian young depends
largely on a strong mother–ospring relationship. e clade
Ungulata includes mainly precocial species giving birth to well-
developed ospring, capable of moving on their own shortly aer
birth (4). To protect their vigorous ospring, ungulate mothers
exhibit complex behavioral patterns starting in late pregnancy
and continuing through parturition and lactation (5). is dif-
fers substantially from the normal adult female behavior and
functions to provide the young with sucient nutrition, warmth,
protection, comfort, and opportunities for social transmission
of information [as reviewed in Ref. (6)]. In the domesticated
species, reproductive success has a huge impact on productivity,
and thus scientic focus has been mainly on successful parturi-
tion and subsequent lactation, and far less on the period leading
up to parturition. Both beef and dairy cattle production rely on
the cows’ ability to reproduce, but it is only in beef cattle produc-
tion that farmers depend on the ability of the cow to establish
a strong and long-lasting bond to her calf, providing it with
nutrition and protection until weaning (7). Dairy production
is based on the cow’s ability to produce milk aer removal of
the newborn calf (7), and thus selection for maternal behavior
in dairy cows may have been relaxed compared with beef cattle
due to the reduced need for post-calving maternal investment.
However, this does not take into account the inevitable need for
prepartum maternal behavior aiming to ensure smooth calvings
with few (or preferably no) complications. is will further
safeguard strong and healthy calves, as well as healthier and
more productive cows with low morbidity (Figure1). Indeed,
post-calving success is likely to be dependent on the pre-calving
success, which emphasizes the need for appropriate prepartum
maternal behavior.
A small body of literature has shed light on the prepartum
maternal behavior of the cow, although mainly under produc-
tion conditions [e.g., Ref. (8, 9)] and only to a lesser extent
under semi-natural conditions [e.g., Ref. (3, 10) further details
Ta bl e 1 ]. To date, there are only few studies on the prepartum
maternal behavior of feral cattle [Maremma cattle (11), Masai
cattle (12), Chillingham cattle (13), and Camargue cattle (14)]
and these were all carried out several decades ago. is may seem
surprising as no less than four articles over the last 40years have
pointed out the need for more comparative studies of ancestral
and domestic behavior in cattle (1518). Given that the ancestor
of cattle, the Auroch, has been extinct for centuries (19) and
the number of feral cattle herds are very limited (Tab l e 1), one
potential approach to understanding the biology underlying
prepartum maternal behavior of domesticated cattle, is by com-
parison with other ungulate species. Studies of feral cattle may be
more likely in the future with the advent of conservation grazing
[e.g., Ref. (20)], giving more opportunity to observe prepartum
behavior under natural or low-managed conditions.
is review draws on literature from feral and commercial
cattle breeds and investigates similarities and dissimilarities to
other members of the ungulate clade. With the main emphasis
on dairy cows, our aim was to understand the biological basis of
prepartum behavior of feral cattle to improve the understanding
of motivations underlying and mechanisms causing the behavior
seen in domestic cattle today. In the future, this knowledge may
benet the dairy industry and lead to better-adapted housing
system designs and recommendations for better prepartum
management practice, which improves both eciency and ani-
mal welfare.
WHY ISOLATE?
Many ungulate studies have reported that a proportion of the
females are “hiding,” “isolating,” “being secluded,” or “seeking
away” from the herd or from other “threats” around the time of
parturition. e term “isolation seeking” is commonly used in
such studies, but what is termed isolation in one species may dif-
fer from what is termed isolation in other species. Irrespectively,
the term “isolation seeking” is used to indicate the purpose of the
behavior: to hide and seclude the female from disturbances (aris-
ing from various threats), thus allowing her to give birth in a calm
place, where she subsequently is able to nurse and bond with her
young. However, as isolation seeking in one ungulate species may
dier from that of other species, the comparison of dierent ways
to achieve the same goal is relevant, especially as the underlying
motivations of females of dierent species may or may not be
the same. In the following, isolation behavior is discussed in the
context of causality, whereas the hider/follower paradigm is dealt
with in Section “e Hider/Follower Paradigm,” although some
overlap is unavoidable.
FIGURE 1 | The impact of the prepartum search for and selection of an appropriate birth site. Prepartum success depends on the female’s ability to locate an
appropriate birth site to ensure and safeguard a calm parturition and optimal surroundings for postpartum maternal behavior by lowering the risk of predators,
disturbances, and mistaken identity of offspring. This, in turn, increases the chance of postpartum success.
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In sheep, Dwyer and Lawrence (50) suggested that birth-site
selection (termed “isolation seeking”) varies with increasing
degree of domestication. Wild and feral breeds of sheep such as
mouons, Soay, Dall, and bighorn are observed to move away
from the herd to rocky and secluded areas (5155), hence they
may not distance themselves from the herd, but seek cover, or
a combination of the two. Domesticated breeds such as Merino
sheep also distance themselves from the herd, but only when
the environment oers a degree of elevation or topographical
change, otherwise the ewes give birth within the herd (56). is
may be inuenced by articial selection for more sociability in
the domestic breeds (50), but is evidently also aected by the
environment (see e Hider/Follower Paradigm).
So far, some ungulate studies have sought to explain pre-
partum isolation seeking behavior of females, and noted that
the characteristics of the birth site itself may be less important
than the ability to move away from disturbances (57). An
example of this can be seen in wild omson’s gazelles (58):
Roberts and Rubenstein showed that if a herd caught up with
a parturient female, the newborn fawns were usually killed by
jackals, presumably due to the group being too conspicuous. In
such cases, being disturbed by the herd can have fatal conse-
quences, and since disturbances during parturition were much
more common for non-isolating than for isolating females, the
hiding aspect of the isolation seeking behavior appears impor-
tant for the survival of the ospring in this species. Yet, other
studies indicate that fallow deer dams adapt their maternal
behavior to the prevailing predator pressure, which even may
supersede forage availability (59). is is a sensible priority as a
predator is an acute survival threat as opposed to lack of food,
which may be tolerated in the short term. Another example
of prepartum isolation comes from breeds of domestic sheep,
which move to the edges of their enclosure to lamb, thought to
be caused by disturbances arising from human activity (50).
Likewise, indoor-housed domestic sheep will use a cubicle
at lambing when given the opportunity (60, 61). In addition,
when disturbed by human activity in the area, elk dams will
change their movement pattern, especially if disturbed during
calving season (62). Assuming that wild ungulate dams per-
ceive humans as predators, such behavioral exibility, may have
originated from sensitivity to predator pressure (58). Avoiding
predators by hiding is an adaptive behavior as it reduces the
risk of having the ospring killed and these behaviors may thus
be preserved in domestic species. Hence, isolation may be a
means to avoid disturbances in general, but more specically
avoid predators or other immediate threats. Irrespectively,
in a commercial livestock production environment, where
females are surrounded by herd mates, hiding will oen be dif-
cult, especially if human activity and other disturbances are
frequent. More work is needed to examine whether domestic
females are aiming to avoid threats, and whether disturbance
may cause articial isolation opportunities to be less attractive
TABLE 1 | Overview of observations within studies of maternal behavior in cattle with main emphasis on prepartum behavior.
Feral cattle Pasture-kept cattle Cattle housed in intensive commercial
environment (mainly indoors)
Features of the birth site
Vegetative/visual cover Differs with habitath,k Differs with habitatE
Mainly visual coverA
No clear preference19
Provides cover from disturbances Not studied Yes, from herd membersACalving when quiet in the barn1,5,21
Higher stocking density results in lower
“isolation seeking”17
Distance to herd Leave the herd but no
defined distancee,g,h,i
10–380m away from the herdd
Leave the herd but no
defined distanceG
Not studied
Prepartum behavioral changes
Separation from herd Yes a,c, e,g,h,i,j
Only some cows dob,d,f
Yes A,C,E
Only some cows doF
NoB,D,H
Yes 4,16
Only some cows do6
Yes, but depends on calving difficulty19
Restlessness Yes dYes A,C,F Yes 1,3,4,10,12,21
Varies with calving difficulty2,19
Increased walking/searching Yes dYes C,F Yes 1,7,12,13,14,19,22
Lying time Not studied UnchangedGLower on the day of calving10,15
Higher 8h before calving3
Increased transition from standing
to lying and viceversa
Yes dYes A,C,G Yes 1,2,3,8,10,12,13,14,15,19,22
Increased sniffing/exploration Not studied Not studied Yes 1,14,19,22
No2
Increased tail raising Not studied Yes C,F Yes 2,11,12,13,14
Licking own body and attention
toward abdomen
Yes dYes CYes 1,10,12,22
No11
Scraping or pawing the ground Yes dYes CYes 1,22
Less feeding behavior Yes dNot studied Yes 10,12,13,14
Reduced rumination Not studied Not studied Yes 1,3,7
A role of olfaction
Licking of own birth fluids Yes dYes A,C,F Yes 1,12,14,18,20,22
Calving at own birth fluid spot Not studied Yes A,C Yes 18,20
Mismothering Not observedjYes A,B,F
Not observedG
Yes 6,9,19
Interest and sniffing from
other cows during calving
Noj
Yes f
Only from cows close to calving
themselvesd
Yes A,B,F
NoG
Yes 6,9,15,18,19
The table includes 41 studies separated into the categories: feral (n=11), pasture-kept (n=8), and intensive commercial cattle mainly housed indoors (n=22). Aspects of and
behaviors related to three different subjects (features of the birth site, prepartum behavioral changes, and the role of olfaction) are listed. Numbers and characters in superscript
indicate the corresponding reference listed at the bottom of the table, with the number in brackets after each reference indicating the order in the reference list. ‘Not studied’
refers to the authors being unable to find any literature on this specific aspect.
References: aBaskin and Stepanov (21); bFinger etal. (22); cHall (13); dKiley-Worthington and de la Plain (23); eLent (4); fLidfors and Jensen (24); gReinhardt (25); hReinhardt etal. (12);
iSchloeth (14); jVitale etal. (11); AAitken etal. (26); BEdwards (27); CGeorge and Barger (10); DLidfors (28); ELidfors etal. (3); FOwens etal. (29); GRice etal. (30); HWood-Gush etal.
(31); 1Arthur (32); 2Barrier etal. (33); 3Borchers etal. (34); 4Dufty (35); 5Edwards (36); 6Edwards and Broom (16); 7Houwing etal. (17); 8Huzzey etal. (37); 9Illmann and Špinka (38);
10Jensen (8); 11Lange etal. (39); 12Metz and Metz (40); 13Miedema etal. (41); 14Miedema etal. (42); 15Proudfoot etal. (43); 16Proudfoot etal. (44); 17Proudfoot etal. (45); 18Rørvang
etal. (46); 19Rørvang etal. (47); 20Selman etal. (48); 21von Keyserlingk and Weary (49); 22Wehrend etal. (9).
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[as suggested by Rørvang etal. (63)]. e level of disturbances
can be high in commercial environments (i.e., from humans
and conspecics), and the use of an articial hide by the cow
may reduce her perceived ability to escape a potential threat;
hence, some articial hides may not provide an attractive
birth site.
Another adaptive aspect underlying isolation is a reduced
risk of mismothering, i.e., cows licking and nursing calves that
are not their own ospring. e immediate licking and sning
of the young by the dam are part of the typical behavioral rep-
ertoire of ungulates enabling the mother to learn the odor and
features of her young for later recognition, thereby ensuring that
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her parental investment is directed toward her own ospring
(54, 64). Several studies in domestic cattle have shown that
group housed peri-parturient cows may lick alien calves, i.e.,
calves born from other cows [e.g., Ref. (27)] and cross-fostering
(i.e., when a cow adopts an alien calf by allowing it to suckle) has
also been reported [e.g., Ref. (65)]. However, observations from
feral cattle herds indicate that cows rarely nurse or lick alien
calves [Maremma cattle (11), Masai Cattle (12)]. e feral cow
and calf may develop a stronger mother–ospring bond, which
is established through intensive contact during a sensitive period
just aer parturition [potentially just a few hours aer calving
(4, 49)]. is bond may be established quicker in an undisturbed
calving environment, which may not be available for domestic
cows in a group pen. Calving in a group pen leads to an increased
risk of mismothering and failure to obtain colostrum by the
calf, thereby challenging the transfer of immunity via colos-
trum intake (27, 38). One reason for the observed mismatches
between dairy cows and alien calves may be a weakening of the
maternal motivation in dairy breeds. Even though dairy cow
maternal behavior may have been modied by genetic change,
studies from other domesticated animals [e.g., nest building in
pigs (66, 67) and mice (68)] suggest that maternal behavior is
preserved despite domestication. Although we cannot exclude
that the occurrence of mismothering reported by studies on
dairy cattle to some extent is aected by genetic change, a more
likely inuential factor is disturbances caused by the conned
environment. Taken together, the above comparison of pre-
partum maternal behavior of female ungulates suggest that the
behavior described as isolation seeking may be an expression of
birth-site selection; functioning to safeguard a calm and secure
birth process by avoiding threats and disturbances potentially
posing a risk to the survival of the female and the newborn in
terms of predation and mismothering whilst at the same time
ensuring suckling, bonding, and protection (Figure1).
WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES OF
AN APPROPRIATE BIRTH SITE?
Natural selection favors mothers that display behavior and habi-
tat selection to enhance neonatal survival (59, 69, 70). Hence,
in a variable environment, natural selection will favor mothers
that are able to modulate and adapt their maternal behavior
including habitat selection to the prevailing circumstances. is
ability to adapt is evident in an array of maternal behaviors. For
example, if ungulates are kept in environments with few options
to search actively for an appropriate birth site, the searching
behavior displayed by the females may be less pronounced. Due
to the scarcity of dairy cow studies on these issues, this section
will draw predominately on ndings from other ungulate spe-
cies. Fouda etal. (71) reported that zoo-kept sika deer, a species
known to hide their ospring in nature, gave birth within the
herd. e authors concluded that this behavior resulted from
the lack of suitable sites where a fawn could be hidden. Lott
and Galland (72) saw some isolation seeking in American
pasture-kept bison. ey stated that the bison gave birth away
from the herd when vegetative cover oered visual isolation
from the herd, whereas calving happened within the herd when
visual isolation was not possible. Roberts and Rubenstein (58)
found that omson’s gazelle females spent considerable time
searching for a suitable place to give birth (sometimes traveling
more than a kilometer) and mainly gave birth in tall grass
away from the herd. However, the authors observed that a herd
would occasionally catch up with the parturient female, negat-
ing the eects of cover availability by their presence. For other
ungulates, clear topographical birth-site preferences have been
found. Feral goats appear to prefer birth sites protected by an
overhead or vertical cover, e.g., trees or hedges (73). Domestic
sheep are known to predominantly give birth on slopes and in
depressions in the ground or areas close to hedges and walls
(74, 75), whereas mountain sheep are attracted to high, rocky
areas with clis (51, 76). Other species, such as red and fallow
deer (59, 77, 78), pronghorn (79), elk (80), wild mouon sheep
(52), and moose (81), favor thick vegetative cover providing
visual isolation from conspecics. For these species, further
studies are needed to ascertain if such preferences are expres-
sions of motivation to isolate in terms of distance from the herd
or to hide from the herd as well as other disturbances including
predators. Cattle do not appear to show clear preferences for
specic birth-site types, even though a few studies on dairy
cows have tried, without success, to elucidate what features are
favored (27, 47). Across studies of bovine birth-site selection, the
presence of vegetative cover may play a role (3, 11, 24, 26) for
the occurrence of isolation behavior.
DOES SEPARATION DISTANCE
FROM THE HERD MATTER?
One important aspect of birth-site selection is the physical dis-
tance the parturient female moves away from the herd. In many
ungulate species, parturient females distance themselves from
the herd [zebra (82); sable antelope (83); bison (72); elk (80);
pronghorn (79); horse (84); red deer (77, 85); impala (86); goat
(87); various wild sheep breeds (51, 53, 76, 88, 89)], although the
exact distance moved by the females has received only modest
attention. e only mention of this was by Karsch etal. (76),
who found that parturient ewes of wild breeds moved more than
2km away from the herd. Many studies included distance from
the herd as part of the denition of isolation when studying
prepartum behavior of females, but only rarely noted the actual
distance. For example, Kiley-Worthington and de la Plain (23)
observed free-ranging cattle and noted that isolation seeking
was rare even though they did not include a denition of the
term other than observing cows moving 10–380m away from
the herd. e authors also noted that the herd sometimes moved
with the pre-parturient cows, thereby reducing the distance
between them, similar to the ndings by Roberts and Rubenstein
in omsons gazelles (58). Another study by Flörcke and
Grandin (90) found that red angus beef cows moved 25–1,250m
away from the main herd when calving and the authors further
noted that 88% moved more than 100m away. One complicating
aspect of distance between the parturient female and potential
threats or disturbances in her environment is the interaction
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between the distance and the possibility to hide. For example,
when ungulates live in at and barren environments, hiding
the ospring becomes dicult irrespective of the maintained
distance to threats/disturbances. Blank etal. (91) found that for
goitered gazelles in a habitat without vegetative cover, where the
mothers were unable to visually hide their ospring, distance
between mothers and ospring became crucial for the mother
not to attract predators to the young. As the mother was unable
to visually hide the ospring, she increased the distance to the
ospring, seemingly to compensate for the lack of vegetative
cover. is was shown in pronghorn mothers living on mixed-
grass prairies, where the mothers separated themselves on aver-
age 269m from the young (92). In other words, these mothers
distanced themselves to where the young was hiding when cover
was decient indicating that the increased distance was moti-
vated by protection of ospring from predators. Unfortunately,
no data are available for domesticated ungulates kept under
natural conditions, but the above ndings suggest that cover
is an important part of birth-site selection, and that parturient
females only relocate long distances insituations where physical
cover is limited.
Although isolation, hiding, seclusion, and seeking away
can all be part of prepartum behavior of ungulates, it may be
more appropriate to use “birth-site selection” to describe the
ultimate (functional) causation of the behavior observed. Female
ungulates appear to favor birth sites providing protection from
predators as well as conspecics, and the preferences of the dams
seem largely to depend on the environment. During the selection
of a birth site, physical cover may be an important factor, but
insituations where such cover is limited, distance from the herd
may become increasingly important.
THE HIDER/FOLLOWER PARADIGM
Within ungulate species, two dierent peri-parturient types are
described in the literature; these are the “hider” and “follower”
strategies of ungulate ospring and mothers (4, 51, 87, 93).
However, comparative research within ungulate species has
shown that the hider–follower dichotomy may be overly simplis-
tic, and that a number of species may be either, depending on
the circumstances. us, instead of being either/or, in reality,
hiding and following strategies may form part of a continuum,
and both of these are considered antipredator strategies. Hiders
provide protection in terms of hiding the young in covered or
secluded habitats aer giving birth (4), while followers actively
look out for and avoid predation in open habitats by keeping their
ospring close (4, 93). Incorporated into the continuum of these
two behavioral types is the dependence on the environment, and
at present little is known about the extent to which the behavior
of an individual ungulate mother and young varies depending on
variations in the environment.
It is suggested (87) that goats, which are considered typical
hider species, were only able to express “true hider character-
istics” when kept in their natural environment. In accordance,
Tennessen and Hudson (94) found that in domestic goats, early
mother–kid contact shared more characteristics with the behav-
ior of follower species. ese authors suggested that either the
hider characteristics of goats were lost through domestication
or maternal behavior changed when the animals were kept in a
dierent environment. Later, studies of goat behavior showed that
domestic goats do separate themselves from herd mates before
kidding (95). Also, their rather complex hider behavior appears
to be largely genetic, making it a highly motivated behavior and
thus less prone to evolutionary dilution (96), even though it may
be inuenced by environmental factors.
Feral populations of ancient cattle breeds living in large
and non-managed nature reserves may provide insight into
the maternal behavior of non-domesticated cattle. Cows from
African and Camargue cattle herds have been observed leaving
the herd days or hours before parturition (4, 12, 14, 25). Calves
of Chillingham cattle hide aer birth (97), whereas calves of
Maremma cattle exhibit both hiding and following behavior in
the early weeks of life depending on the availability of cover (11).
Similarly, studies in domestic cattle seem to support the above
suggestion of a lack of a strict hider/follower dichotomy. ere
are reports of cattle seeking away from the herd before birth when
kept in large, open, and non-managed natural environments
(4, 1114, 21, 25), when pasture-kept (3, 10, 26) and when housed
under commercial production conditions (44), but many studies
report only some cows or no cows separating themselves from
their herd mates (Tab le 1). As with sheep, the studies listed in
Ta bl e 1 indicate that prepartum separation is more common in
feral types of cattle, whereas studies of pasture-kept or indoor-
housed cattle rarely report such behavior. is may be due to
domestication favoring less fearful, more social animals, which
are more stressed by social isolation as suggested for sheep (50)
or, perhaps more likely, due to the conned environment in
which the animals are usually kept. ere is not enough evidence
to suggest that domestic cattle display dierent intermediates of
hider and follower strategies although cattle may adapt to the
environment they inhabit.
PREPARTUM BEHAVIOR
In wild ungulate species, only few observations on female pre-
partum behavior have been recorded (as opposed to postpartum
behavior studies), which may be caused by the animals not
being present near the herd around parturition. Within studies
of ungulates kept under commercial housing conditions, most
authors describe some of the following behavioral changes
occurring as parturition approaches: pacing, pawing, circle
walking without an obvious goal, frequent postural changes,
and reduced lying duration [domestic goat (96), domestic sheep
(98100), and red deer (85)]. In cattle, similar prepartum behav-
ioral changes have been described (Tab l e 1 ). Restlessness is the
behavior most oen reported in cows when calving is imminent
(Tabl e1 ). ere is, however, a discrepancy in the interpretation
of the described restlessness: is it caused by motivation to search
for an appropriate birth site, the experience of pain, or is it a sign
of frustration? e causation for the restless behavior prepartum
and during labor is currently not fully understood. e process of
giving birth is most likely painful (101), and pain may therefore
be involved in the behavioral changes prepartum. e behaviors
observed at this time (reduced lying, increased walking, walking
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with no obvious goal, reduced eating, pawing, pacing along
fences, and more frequent posture changes; Tab le 1) are all oen
interpreted as signs of restlessness and thus the denition of
restlessness varies considerably between studies. So, even though
these behaviors may all reect the same motivation of locating
an appropriate birth site, the constraints of the conned environ-
ment may cause the restless behavior. Similar arguments have
been put forward by Wass etal. (85), who suggested that fence
line pacing in pre-parturient red deer may be a result of the hind
being thwarted in searching for and locating an appropriate birth
site. Other authors have suggested that high stocking density or
low inter-individual distance may cause pacing or restlessness
due to the inability of the female to distance herself from the
herd (85, 98). Studies quantifying prepartum behavioral changes
in cattle with the aim of predicting calving time have failed to
identify a specic type of behavior, which reliably predicts the
timing of calving [e.g., Ref. (34, 102)]. However, it is agreed that
a combination of several behavioral indicators improves estima-
tion of calving time, as any one behavioral indicator cannot
reliably predict time of calving [e.g., lack of rumination 70% in
sensitivity and specicity (103)]. One possible explanation for
these ndings may be that all behavioral changes at this time
are aected by the same underlying motivation, or thwarted
motivation, to search for and nd an appropriate birth site. If so,
the apparent absence of reliable behavioral indicators may reect
dierent attempts to adapt to the situation, which depends on
environmental factors (8, 30, 37, 42, 104, 105).
Focusing on lying behavior, Huzzey et al. (37) measured
frequency and duration of standing in cows kept in individual
pens on the day of calving, and compared this with the behavior
of the same cows before and aer calving, when they were group
housed in free-stalls. Stocking density remained the same (one
cow per stall), but the environment changed markedly on the day
of calving, i.e., from group to individual housing. e authors
found reduced lying time corresponding to an approximately
2h reduction, and 80% more standing bouts on the day of calv-
ing. Jensen (8) and Miedema etal. (42) also found reductions
in lying time on the day of calving (1.3 and 1h, respectively), as
well as increased frequency of lying bouts in the last 6h before
calving. In these studies, the cows had more time (i.e., several
days) to adjust to the environment before calving than the cows
studied by Huzzey etal. (37) (which had 24h or less). In contrast
to these ndings from indoor calving studies, a recent study
by Rice etal. (30) found no reduction in lying time and only
an increase in lying bouts 3–4h before calving in cows calving
on large pasture. erefore, it is possible that the behavioral
responses observed as calving approaches are signs of failed
behavioral attempts to adapt to the conned environment.
If so, restlessness may be a sign of frustration resulting from the
cow not being able to search for and nd an appropriate birth
site, rather than a sign of stress or pain induced by parturition
per se. One might argue that as birth-site selection behavior
is observed in large and open environments, restlessness may
be seen in the conned environment because the calving cow
moves as if she was in the large environment. e behavior is
similar, but the environment aects its expression and hence its
interpretation.
Frustration from being prevented from performing pre-
partum maternal behavior has been documented in at least
one ungulate, the domestic pig. Crating of parturient sows, as
is typically done in commercial housing systems, prevents the
choice of nesting site [feral sows will walk kilometers to choose
an appropriate nesting site (66)] and prevents the performance
of natural prepartum nest building mainly due to lack of space
and lack of nesting materials (106, 107). e higher activity level
measured pre-farrowing, such as frequent changes between
standing and lying (108, 109), is most likely a reection of the
inability to search for a nesting site. Abnormal behaviors such
as bar biting (110112), rooting the oor, and sham chewing
(111, 113) are also seen in the period leading up to farrowing.
Moreover, loose housed sows provided with pre-formed nests
still perform nest building behavior (114) and thus achieving
the goal of having a nest does not satisfy this behavioral need.
e high activity level and the abnormal behaviors may reect
the same underlying cause as the restlessness seen in cattle
and many sow studies suggest that these are signs or out-lets
of frustration arising from not being able to express the highly
motivated prepartum maternal behavior. is view is further
supported by the ndings that preventing sows from nest build-
ing activities results in decreased oxytocin levels (113, 115),
increased cortisol concentrations (111, 116), and increased
heart rate (117), leading several authors to propose that impair-
ment of natural behavior during the prepartum period results
in compromised welfare of sows (111, 117119). Also, conned
sows have longer farrowing durations and longer inter-piglet
birth intervals, thereby challenging the vitality of the ospring
(107). Such measurements are not available within studies of
prepartum behavior of cattle but we do know from work on
social isolation and lying deprivation [measured as ACTH
increase in Ref. (120)] that non-parturient cows show signs of
frustration. In cows, more studies of the consequences of allow-
ing the possibility to perform prepartum maternal behavior
are needed to understand the motivational background of the
prepartum behavior observed in cows in commercial produc-
tion systems. Such studies would enable evaluation of whether
and when motivation-based systems mitigates the expression of
prepartum behavior, thereby improving the welfare of calving
cows and their calves.
A POSSIBLE ROLE FOR OLFACTION?
Olfaction is an aspect of maternal behavior in cattle which has
received little scientic attention until now. In many ungulate
species, birth uids are attractive and consumed by parturient
females, e.g., domestic and wild sheep (4, 56, 98, 121), horses,
pigs and goats (122), sable antelopes (123), and red deer (85),
but this behavior has only been studied sparsely in relation
to ungulate mothers’ selection of birth site. However, the
attractiveness of birth uids is closely related to parturition.
In sheep, the attraction has been shown to last for a few hours
aer lambing (121), whereas cows show signs of attraction as
early as 12h before calving lasting for at least 24-h postpartum
[the duration of the study (124)]. George and Barger (10) found
that parturient cows remained within the same area where
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their amniotic uids were discharged until calving had been
completed, and recently Rørvang et al. (46) suggested that
cows predominantly would calve at the spot where another
cow had previously calved. Attraction to olfactory cues there-
fore appears to have implications for the prepartum maternal
behavior of cattle. Maternally motivated cows kept in groups
are inevitably aected by the odor cues in the birth uids of
other cows even before giving birth themselves, and this may
be exacerbated when housing conditions prevent cows from
avoiding these odors. In addition, the attractiveness of these
odors may reduce the likelihood of a cow moving away to nd a
birth site elsewhere, which may make articial hides less attrac-
tive (63). Based on the above, we suggest that olfactory cues
need to be considered in future prepartum maternal behavior
studies and are likely to inuence the use of any calving facility
provided.
Olfactory cues, however, are not only important for the
prepartum behavior of female ungulates. In sheep, the role of
olfaction is essential for the onset of lamb-directed maternal
behavior, at least for inexperienced mothers (125, 126). For
instance, Basiouni and Gonyou (125) showed that fostering of
alien lambs to parturient females was possible only if the lambs
were covered by jackets soaked in amniotic uid. Adult domestic
goats show interest in alien newborn kids (95), and in farmed
red deer such attention can be rather intense and even increase if
stocking density is high [in addition, more mismothering occur
in this situation (85)]. As mentioned earlier, also cattle studies
have reported attention from cows toward and licking of alien
calves, especially in commercial housing conditions (Tabl e 1 ).
Studies from free-ranging cattle, however, oen do not report
cows showing interest in alien calves’, which may be explained by
the cows seeking away from the herd (11). Hiding or separating
from conspecics probably lowers the risk of mothers interacting
with alien ospring in general, but physical cover may not suce
to keep maternally motivated cows away if they can smell a calf.
Recently, we oered pregnant group housed cows an opportu-
nity to select an individual pen as birth site. e presence of a
newborn alien calf in the group pen reduced the likelihood of
the cows using this opportunity (63), most likely because the
newborn calf s coat contained birth uids. Hence, olfaction and
odors are likely to be important for the onset and direction of
maternal behavior also in cattle.
Commercial dairy cow housing conditions oen mean high
stocking densities in a relatively barren environment oering
few options of selecting a birth site away from other cows as well
as more disturbances from human activities and conspecics.
Taken together, this means that pre-parturient cows housed in
groups are in close proximity to olfactory stimuli important for
maternal behavior, i.e., birth uids from other cows and their
calves. Unlike sheep, cattle show a preference for birth uids
also before parturition, and prepartum cows have been reported
to nurse alien calves (59, 62), observations which may explain
the higher occurrence of mismothering in commercial housing
(Tabl e1). is may also introduce a higher risk of mismothering
when cows calve in group pens when compared with parturi-
ent sheep, as ewes are not attracted to birth uids until aer
parturition (121). In addition, group housing may increase the
risk of agonistic social interactions limiting the access of bovine
mothers to their own calves. Mismothering and lack of contact
between cow–calf increases the risk of colostrum and maternal
care being allocated to alien calves, leading to failure of passive
transfer of immunity from the mother to her biological ospring.
e importance of olfaction and odors thus need to be taken into
consideration in the design of housing facilities for parturient
cattle (127), especially in relation to group housing. Implications
of group housing of calving cows need to be critically addressed
as this type of management is quite common [for example, 70%
of US dairy operations (128)], and particularly if cows and calves
are to remain together post-calving. Keeping parturient cows
in groups is normally associated with early cow–calf separation
(2) and thus if early calf nursing and cow–calf bonding are to be
ensured, housing of parturient cows in individual calving pens
appears to be necessary.
CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES
Drawing on research literature on prepartum maternal behavior,
this review compared cattle to other members of the ungulate
clade with the aim of understanding the biological basis of
bovine prepartum behavior with main emphasis on dairy cows.
Prepartum success depends on the females ability to locate an
appropriate birth site to ensure and safeguard a calm parturition
and optimal surroundings for postpartum maternal behavior
by lowering the risk of predators, disturbances, and mistaken
identity of ospring. At present, the motivations of cows underly-
ing the apparent prepartum isolation seeking behavior have not
been fully explored. In addition, traditional concepts of ungulate
maternal behavior such as the hider/follower-dichotomy appear
overly simplistic. Based on the reviewed literature, we suggest that
more scientic focus should be given to the prepartum maternal
behavior (i.e., the phase of birth-site selection) in dairy cows,
as they are exposed to several factors in a commercial calving
environment, which may thwart their maternal motivations
and inuence their behavior and welfare. One such factor is
olfactory cues, which may exert stronger eects on prepartum
cows than other ungulate species as cows are attracted to birth
uids already before parturition. Providing dairy cows with an
environment where they can perform the prepartum maternal
behavior for which they are motivated, may facilitate postpartum
maternal behavior and success. Further research focusing on
motivation-based housing of peri-parturient cows is needed to
ascertain the importance of degree of movement and distance
from the group within the constraints of dairy housing systems.
ese studies should include eects on the welfare of calving cows
and their ospring. Ultimately, this knowledge may be used in
future development of more suitable housing and management
systems for calving cows.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
All authors contributed to the initial idea and early discussions
underlying this review. MR did the main literature search and
selection and wrote the rst dra of the manuscript, including
gure and table.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cathy Dwyer and colleagues, SRUC, Edinburgh, Scotland, for
fruitful discussions on thoughts and theories. Cecilie Kobeck
orsen, Aarhus University, for adding to the evolutionary
aspects of this review.
FUNDING
is work was funded by the Green Development and
Demonstration Program of the Danish Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Fisheries, Copenhagen, Denmark and the PhD
school GSST, Aarhus University, Denmark.
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Conict of Interest Statement: e authors declare that the research was con-
ducted in the absence of any commercial or nancial relationships that could be
construed as a potential conict of interest.
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During the transition to calving, dairy ruminants undergo physiological changes affecting several metabolic functions, including feeding behavior, nutrient flux and redistribution, hormonal patterns, and immune responses. Failure in those adaptations often induces a physiological imbalance condition, predisposing animals to developing several metabolic and infectious disorders at the onset of lactation. The immune system exerts a pivotal role in allowing a proper adaptation of dairy ruminants to the transition period, as immune dysfunctions and chronic inflammatory conditions contribute to increasing the development of physiological imbalance condition. Several managerial practices could be adopted to improve dairy ruminants’ adaptation to the transition period through improving the immune system function and mainly mitigating the inflammatory conditions. This chapter is aimed at (1) exploring physiological adaptations affecting metabolic functions of dairy ruminants while approaching calving, (2) understanding metabolic processes that are more likely affected by a physiological imbalance condition, (3) highlighting the role of the immune system in affecting a successful adaptation to the transition period, and (4) listing possible intervention aimed at improving such adaptation, mainly through modulating inflammation.
Chapter
This chapter considers law through the lens of critical animal studies. It specifically reimagines canonical legal cases from the perspective of the animals involved in them. Through the lens of the animals involved in the case, we examine cases in which animal interests were considered by human advocates and decided by human judges. We begin by providing a rudimentary methodological framework for how legal scholars and commentators might expand anthropocentric legal processes (such as the decision of cases) to consider the perspectives of non-human animals. This project rests at the intersection of critical animal studies and the burgeoning field of animal and biodiversity law. More broadly, we are interested in how lawyers can use the traditional tools of our field (legislation, regulation, common law, constitutional provisions, and private law) to create positive visions for new ways of more equitably co-existing with nature and non-human living beings. We are interested in reforming law to incorporate principles of interspecies equity, which requires institutional shifts away from assumed anthropocentricity through the development of new tools and techniques to integrate the interests of non-human living beings—animals specifically for this work—into the field of law.
Article
This study aimed to assess the preference and use of an artificial shelter in dairy cows managed outdoors at calving during winter. We also evaluated whether this preference would be influenced by weather conditions (rain, air temperature, or wind) or the time of the day at calving. Two weeks before their expected calving date, 18 cows were paired based on body weight, body condition score, parity, and expected calving date. Each pair was assigned to an open paddock (42 m²/cow) with a bare soil surface, high mud content, and access to an artificial shelter until calving. The shelter consisted of a 6 × 3 m metal structure, with 3 sides covered with zinc sheets, a polycarbonate roof, and a thick layer of dry sawdust covering the ground surface. Shelter use and cow behavior inside it (lying and sleeping) were continuously recorded via video and analyzed using continuous observation. Observations were divided into 2 periods: the day before calving (24 to 48 h before calving) and the day of calving (24 h before calving until calving). Ninety-four percent (15/16) of the cows preferred to calve inside the artificial shelter, and this preference was not affected by the time of day or weather conditions. Regardless of the day of study (the day before calving or the day of calving), cows spent approximately 64% of their daily time inside the shelter, and once inside, they spent most of the time lying down. Our findings indicate dairy cows prefer using an artificial shelter as a calving and lying place, suggesting that opportunities for protection should be provided when they are managed outdoors in muddy paddock conditions.
Article
Objective: Parturition is crucial for dams, their calves, and cow managers. The prediction of calving time, which assists cow managers to decide on the relocation of cows to maternity pens and necessity of human supervision, is a pivotal aspect of livestock farming. However, existing methods of predicting calving time in dairy cows based on hormonal changes and clinical symptoms are time-consuming and yield unreliable predictions. Accordingly, we investigated whether heart rate variability (HRV) which is a non-invasive assessment of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and behavior during the prepartum period would be useful for predicting calving time in dairy cows. Methods: Eight pregnant cows were surveilled under electrocardiogram and video recordings for HRV and behavioral analyses, respectively. HRV parameters in time and frequency domains were evaluated. A 24-h time budget was calculated for each of six types of behavior (standing and lying with or without rumination, sleeping, and eating). Results: Heart rate on calving day is considerably higher than those recorded on the days preceding calving. Low frequency power declined, whereas high frequency power escalated on the calving day compared to the period between 24 and 48 h before calving. The time budget for ruminating while lying decreased and that while standing increased markedly on the calving day compared to those allocated on the preceding days; nonetheless, the total time budget for ruminating did not differ during the prepartum period. Conclusion: We elucidated the ANS activity and behavioral profiles during prepartum period. Our results confirm that HRV parameters and behavior are useful for predicting calving time, and interestingly indicate that the time budget for ruminating while standing (or lying) may serve as a valuable predictor of calving. Collectively, our findings lay the foundation for future investigations to determine other potential predictors and formulate an algorithm for predicting calving time.
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In order to improve animal welfare it is recommended that dairy farmers move calving cows from the herd to individual pens when calving is imminent. However, the practicality of moving cows has proven a challenge and may lead to disturbance of the cows rather than easing the process of calving. One solution may be to allow the cow to seek isolation prior to calving. This study examined whether pre-parturient dairy cows will isolate in an individual calving pen placed in a group calving setting and whether a closing gate in this individual calving pen will cause more cows to isolate prior to calving. Danish Holstein cows (n = 66) were housed in groups of six in a group pen with access to six individual calving pens connected to the group area. Cows were trained to use one of two isolation opportunities i.e. individual calving pens with functional closing gates (n = 35) allowing only one cow access at a time, or individual calving pens with permanently open gates allowing free cow traffic between group area and individual pen (n = 31). The response variables were calving site, calving behaviour and social behaviour. Unexpectedly, a functional gate did not facilitate isolation seeking, perhaps because the cows were not able to combine a learnt response with the motivation to isolate. Dominant cows had the highest chance of calving in an individual calving pen. If an alien calf was present in the group pen or any of the individual pens, cows were less likely to calve in an individual calving pen. Future studies should allow cows easy access to an individual calving pen and explore what motivates pre-parturient cows to seek isolation in order to facilitate voluntary use of individual calving pens.
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The objective of this study was to use automated activity, lying, and rumination monitors to characterize prepartum behavior and predict calving in dairy cattle. Data were collected from 20 primiparous and 33 multiparous Holstein dairy cattle from September 2011 to May 2013 at the University of Kentucky Coldstream Dairy. The HR Tag (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) automatically collected neck activity and rumination data in 2-h increments. The IceQube (IceRobotics Ltd., South Queensferry, United Kingdom) automatically collected number of steps, lying time, standing time, number of transitions from standing to lying (lying bouts), and total motion, summed in 15-min increments. IceQube data were summed in 2-h increments to match HR Tag data. All behavioral data were collected for 14 d before the predicted calving date. Retrospective data analysis was performed using mixed linear models to examine behavioral changes by day in the 14 d before calving. Bihourly behavioral differences from baseline values over the 14 d before calving were also evaluated using mixed linear models. Changes in daily rumination time, total motion, lying time, and lying bouts occurred in the 14 d before calving. In the bihourly analysis, extreme values for all behaviors occurred in the final 24 h, indicating that the monitored behaviors may be useful in calving prediction. To determine whether technologies were useful at predicting calving, random forest, linear discriminant analysis, and neural network machine-learning techniques were constructed and implemented using R version 3.1.0 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). These methods were used on variables from each technology and all combined variables from both technologies. A neural network analysis that combined variables from both technologies at the daily level yielded 100.0% sensitivity and 86.8% specificity. A neural network analysis that combined variables from both technologies in bihourly increments was used to identify 2-h periods in the 8 h before calving with 82.8% sensitivity and 80.4% specificity. Changes in behavior and machine-learning alerts indicate that commercially marketed behavioral monitors may have calving prediction potential.
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Utilizing pasture-based systems may increase cow comfort during late gestation and calving as it lacks the constraints of confinement housing. The objective of this study was to quantify lying behavior and activity of Holstein dairy cows housed on pasture during the 6 d before calving. Sixteen Holstein dairy cows were moved to pasture 3 weeks before their projected calving date. Data loggers were attached 14 d prior to projected calving date. Behavior was evaluated 6 d before calving for all cows (n = 16) and 6 h prior to calving for a subset of cows (n = 6) with known calving times. Data loggers recorded at 1-min intervals to determine lying time (h/d and %/h), lying bouts (n/d and n/h), lying bout duration (min/bout), and steps (n/d and n/h). A repeated measures analysis of variance with contrasts was performed to determine if lying behaviors and activity differed between baseline and day or hour of interest. Lying time was greater 6 d prior to calving compared to the day of and before calving. Cows had longer lying bouts 6 d prior to calving compared to day of calving. Cows spent less time lying in the hour before calving compared to 6 h prior to parturition. The lack of change in behavior and activity during the 7 d prior to calving may indicate that pasture provided an adequate environment for cows during the prepartum period but did not impact cow welfare in the hours leading up to calving.
Article
The objective of this study was to predict stage 2 of calving in Holstein-Friesian heifers. Interobserver reliability and predictive values of relevant signs of imminent parturition (i.e., tail raising, stepping, clear and bloody vaginal discharge, turning the head toward the abdomen, and lying lateral with abdominal contractions) were determined. In the first experiment 32 heifers were included. Three investigators participated as observers in the study. They walked through the precalving pen in pairs and observed pregnant heifers (≥267 d pregnant). Cohen's kappa results for the interobserver reliability were between 0.51 and 0.91. Thirty-seven Holstein-Friesian heifers were enrolled in the second experiment. Heifers were observed hourly for 24 h/d. Signs of imminent parturition that occurred were noted on a checklist. Compared with a precalving control period (4 d before calving), tail raising, clear vaginal discharge, and bloody vaginal discharge were more likely to occur during the last 24 h before calving. Two equations were built using the GENLINMIXED procedure to predict the hours until parturition. In version 1, the absence or presence of each sign of imminent parturition except turning the head toward the abdomen was included. In version 2, hours until parturition were estimated with the factors days of gestation, tail raising, and clear vaginal discharge. Relaxation of the broad pelvic ligaments and teat filling were evaluated twice per day. Prediction of calving with these parameters was not satisfying (positive predictive values were between 35.1 and 72.7% depending on the day of gestation). The possibility of excluding calving for the next 12 h was considerably higher, ranging from 88.5 to 97.1%. These results indicate that predicting stage 2 of calving via direct observation of plausible signs is imprecise and therefore not recommendable.
Article
In modern calving facilities dairy cows either calve in a group pen or are moved to a separate individual pen when calving is imminent. In practice, cows are often moved too close to calving, which poses a health risk to cow and calf. Thus, a need exists for new calving facility designs and management practices that better align with the motivations of the cow. This study examined dairy cow preferences for individual calving pens by offering 3 different levels of isolation (tall and narrow, low and wide, and tall and wide) by analyzing the association between precalving behavior, choice of degree of isolation, and the progress of calving. The hypotheses were that cows would prefer the highest level of isolation when giving birth, and that calving in a high level of isolation would be associated with less restlessness and a shorter calving duration. Contrary to these hypotheses, no specific preference between degrees of isolation or difference in calving behavior in the different calving pens was found. However, cows experiencing a longer calving duration chose to calve in the most secluded calving pen (tall and wide). These results cannot determine cause and effect, but may suggest that interactions between motivation for isolation seeking and calving behavior exist.
Article
A calving cow and her newborn calf appear to have an attracting effect on periparturient cows, which may potentially influence the functionality of future motivation-based calving pen designs. In this pilot study we examined whether calving site selection of group-housed Holstein dairy cows was affected by the site of a previous calving. Ten multiparous cows moved to 1 of 2 group pens 11 (range = 4–27) d before calving were included. Each pen consisted of an open area (9 × 9 m) connected to 6 secluded areas (4.5 × 3 m each), where cows could move freely between all areas. Time of calving, location of the breaking of the amniotic sac, as well as the place of birth were recorded. In all but 1 case cows calved within a distance of 1 cow length from where the previous calving took place, suggesting that the cows did not select calving site at random. These preliminary observations indicate that choice of calving site may be affected by the site of a previous calving, potentially explained by the presence of amniotic fluids.
Article
Fitness of female ungulates is determined by neonate survival and lifetime reproductive success. Therefore, adult female ungulates should adopt behaviors and habitat selection patterns that enhance survival of neonates during parturition and lactation. Parturition site location may play an important role in neonatal mortality of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) when lambs are especially vulnerable to predation, but parturition sites are rarely documented for this species. Our objectives were to assess environmental characteristics at desert bighorn parturition, lamb nursery, and predation sites and to assess differences in habitat characteristics between parturition sites and nursery group sites, and predation sites and nursery group sites. We used vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) to identify parturition sites and capture neonates. We then compared elevation, slope, terrain ruggedness, and visibility at parturition, nursery, and lamb predation sites with paired random sites and compared characteristics of parturition sites and lamb predation sites to those of nursery sites. When compared to random sites, odds of a site being a parturition site were highest at intermediate slopes and decreased with increasing female visibility. Odds of a site being a predation site increased with decreasing visibility. When compared to nursery group sites, odds of a site being a parturition site had a quadratic relationship with elevation and slope, with odds being highest at intermediate elevations and intermediate slopes. When we compared predation sites to nursery sites, odds of a site being a predation were highest at low elevation areas with high visibility and high elevation areas with low visibility likely because of differences in hunting strategies of coyote (Canis latrans) and puma (Puma concolor). Parturition sites were lower in elevation and slope than nursery sites. Understanding selection of parturition sites by adult females and how habitat characteristics at these sites differ from those at predation and nursery sites can provide insight into strategies employed by female desert bighorn sheep and other species during and after parturition to promote neonate survival.
Book
Cattle play a fundamental role in animal agriculture throughout the world. They not only provide us with a vital food source, but they also provide us with fertilizer and fuel. Keeping reproduction levels at an optimum level is therefore essential, but this is often a complicated process, especially with modern, high yielding cows. Written in a practical and user-friendly style, this book aims to help the reader understand cattle reproduction by explaining the underlying physiology of the reproductive process and the role and importance of pharmacology and technology, and showing how management techniques can improve reproductive efficiency. This edition includes: Recent research findings on the physiology of the oestrous cycle and its control; New techniques for monitoring and manipulating reproduction, including pregnancy diagnosis and embryo transfer; Advice on identifying common infertility problems and how to prevent and treat them. Reproduction Cattle 3e is essential reading for veterinary and agricultural students, as well as veterinarians and farmers involved in cattle reproduction.